The Survival Chronicles (Book 3): Mercy Fall

by Nally, Fergal F.

  Maybe a diversion?

  Footsteps echoed down the hall. Mercy’s hand went to her Beretta. Garrett appeared in the doorway. “So what’s it to be? Are you coming on board with the Texas Rangers or swanning off to sunny California?”

  Mercy couldn’t help herself, something about the way Garrett had asked her brought a smile to her face. “I’m on board, we’ll get your Claire and my friends. Then we’ll go south, I’d like to meet Constantine.”

  Garrett nodded, “Good choice. Come on then, we’ve got work to do.”

  “We’re going to avoid the highway, right?” Mercy asked, gathering her things.

  “Yeah, there’s a back way into the mountain complex via the ridge. A road west of the zoo runs to the top of Cheyenne Mountain, there’s even a lodge up there. Claire’s given me the coordinates of a concealed air intake shaft for the bunker, that’s our way in,” Garrett packed his kit and moved towards the door.

  “So you’ve got a plan? Or we just get in and Claire has something figured out?” Mercy asked.

  “Something like that,” Garrett replied. “We’ll fine tune the details when we get there. Good to go?”

  “Good to go,” Mercy confirmed.

  They left the country club and hiked across the overgrown golf course. Nature had reclaimed the land. They hacked their way through long grass and weeds emerging into a row of abandoned houses clustered around a road. The asphalt was pitted and broken by weeds and roots. They pushed on, the early morning sunshine lifted Mercy’s spirits. It was good to be away from the highway and the possibility of detection by the NSA. The mountain loomed ahead, Mercy was excited, she had never been to a mountain range before.

  How could they possibly build a road up that thing?

  They skirted another golf course, this one hugging the base of the mountain, and emerged onto a road leading up. A sign pointed ahead; CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO. They continued and cut across a huge car park, a road marked CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY wound through the zoo and up the mountainside. Signs for the giraffe and elephant areas and a sign marked AUSTRALIA WALKABOUT caught Mercy’s eye then the road turned back on itself heading up. They trudged in silence Mercy’s joints aching with the long walk in on the hard surface.

  The road climbed in a series of switchbacks eating up the miles and altitude. Mercy felt the ascent in her legs and lungs. Garrett pushed the pace never letting up, Mercy kept quiet, her head down, focusing on her feet, establishing a rhythm.

  Look at the ground, don’t look ahead it’ll make it harder—

  Mercy dug deep and embraced the physicality of the ascent, sweat poured from her brow running down her nose dripping onto the road. Random thoughts entered her mind; where had all the zoo animals gone? Had they died in their enclosures or had some escaped? She wondered if groups of elephants or giraffes wandered the valley below. The thought pleased her as she considered a mix of African and Australian animals establishing a new order on the land.

  But then again maybe the tropes had got them, like in New York. She remembered the carcasses of the carriage horses drained of blood, rotting at the entrance to Central Park. In many ways she had found that more upsetting than the human bodies shrivelled up, drained of their blood. She had always loved animals and couldn’t bear to see them harmed, but that was then, this was now.

  An overturned sign caught her eye on the side of the road; WILL ROGERS SHRINE OF THE SUN. She looked up and caught a glimpse of an impressive tower ahead. Garrett was marching on, sweat soaking his shirt, his pace slowing. She looked at his pack wondering how heavy it was, at least she had little to carry. They needed to drink soon, her mouth was dry and a headache was beginning to niggle. Garrett turned just as she was about to ask him for a break.

  “We’ll stop at the shrine, there’s shade and there’ll be water.”

  Mercy nodded and waved him on digging into her reserves. Sweat stung her eyes and ran into the corners of her mouth, her legs felt weak. The road widened and she looked up, there was the tower. It was impressive and seemed to pierce the azure sky. Garrett held a gate open, she passed through and staggered up the steps to the tower wall. Her legs gave way and she sank to the ground in the shade.

  Mercy was dimly aware of Garrett moving around the tower, then he vanished. He reappeared a few minutes later carrying a plastic bottle of water. He handed it to her, “Here drink this, it’s fresh from the storm last night, there’s a full tank behind the tower, it was probably used for gardening.”

  Mercy took slow sips taking the edge off her thirst then handed the bottle back to Garrett. “You have some, I’ll have more in a minute.” She rested with her eyes closed and felt her head clear, she should have worn a hat on the ascent, it was midday and the sun was at its strongest.

  Stupid, stupid, you gotta think. The last thing you need is sunstroke—

  She cried in alarm as her calf muscle contracted. The cramp spread up her leg, she rolled over stretching, gritting her teeth. The pain passed and she slumped back against the wall.

  “Here, reckon you need these,” Garrett held out his hand.

  Mercy looked at the pills eyebrows raised.

  “Salt tablets, you’ve lost a lot of salt on the way up, these will fix you up.”

  Mercy swallowed the tablets with a mouthful of water and massaged her leg. “What is this place anyway,” she said finally.

  “It’s a memorial built in 1937 by a guy called Spencer Penrose, he dedicated it to his friend Will Rogers. We’re at 8,000 feet,” Garrett said.

  “How did you know all that?” Mercy asked, vaguely impressed.

  “I read the plaque above your head,” Garrett said.

  Mercy looked up at the wall and smiled. “So you did.” Her eyes went to the top of the tower. “We’d get a great view from up there, what do you think?” She was feeling better, her head had cleared.

  “Yeah, I’m on it. You want to come?”

  “Right behind you,” Mercy pulled herself up and stretched again.

  Garrett went through the tower’s open doors and climbed the stairs. Five floors later they emerged onto a viewing area. Colorado Springs sprawled out below them under a blue sky, a large crow squawked on the battlements before flying away.

  “Jesus, some view eh?” Mercy said, catching her breath.

  Garrett pulled out a pair of binoculars from his pack. He scanned the way they had come then looked ahead. He stayed glued to the binoculars for a few minutes before passing them to Mercy. “Looks like we’ve not been followed. Can’t see any trouble ahead, but we need to keep our guard up, the NSA may have men up at the lodge.”

  Mercy scoped the plain below and swung around to look at the mountain, “Can’t see the lodge from here, but the ridge looks impressive.”

  “The top’s called the Horns, it actually looks like real horns, anyhow Claire’s coordinates are for the other side of the horns,” Garrett looked at his watch. “I’m hoping we’ll get there by mid-afternoon. You good to go? We’ll have a bite to eat at the lodge, I’ve got food in my pack.”

  “Thought you’d never offer,” Mercy said returning the binoculars.

  They reached the bottom of the tower and set off up the Cheyenne Mountain Highway again. Garrett gave Mercy a T shirt which she used to cover her head. The road wound back on itself in an increasing number of switchbacks. Wind sang through the pine trees on the slopes. It was easy to imagine they were just a couple of hikers on the trail, that everything was right with the world and in the valley below. Except it wasn’t, Mercy chided herself for not being more aware on the way up, sure, it was unlikely there’d be tropes on the mountainside, but anything was possible. She touched her Beretta for reassurance and drew closer to Garrett.

  An hour and a half later they rounded the last bend, a low building came into view. Garrett stopped and pulled off the road, they crouched and waited, listening. Garrett observed the building through the binoculars.

  “Looks clear, but the main lodge is around the corner from that p
lace, if we cut through the trees we can see it,” Garrett said.

  “Let’s do it,” Mercy replied, her stomach growled reminding her of her hunger.

  They scrambled up the slope, through the trees and emerged onto the road again. The main lodge was visible through more trees on the other side of the road. Mercy stiffened, it was possible the NSA had men stationed there. Garrett handed her the binoculars, then he unslung his rifle bringing its telescopic sight to his eye.

  “Nothing,” he said after a minute. “We’re still too far away to be sure, we need to get closer.”

  “Why don’t we just skirt around it? Avoid it even… if you’re worried?” Mercy asked.

  “I don’t want any surprises coming up behind us, even one or two guys could cut us to shreds. Best to be sure,” Garrett responded.

  “But if we’re spotted they’ll raise the alarm,” Mercy countered.

  Garrett looked at her, “I didn’t say we had to engage them, just find out what’s there.”

  “Fair enough,” Mercy conceded.

  They scrambled up the slope and peered at the lodge through the trees. It was impressive; two stories, rustic and completely blended into its surroundings. Garrett wound his way around the building, after twenty minutes they had observed it from every angle.

  “It looks clear, those cars out front have been there for a long time, tyres are flat, so I think we’re good. We can rest here, have something to eat, you good with that?” Garrett sat at the foot of a tree and started to open his pack.

  Mercy slumped down near a cluster of white and lavender coloured Columbine flowers, wind whipped the treetops, the sun shone, it was good to be alive. Life could still be enjoyable.

  Why can’t I stay here? Just stay and forget everything, everyone else. Because life isn’t like that, life is complicated. You’ve got people relying on you, people somewhere below ground in this mountain, struggling for their lives, counting on you—

  Garrett handed her crackers and a small tin of tuna. “Penny for your thoughts,” he said, his steel grey eyes regarding her intently.

  Mercy realised she hadn’t said much on the ascent, she opened the tin and used a cracker to spoon tuna into her mouth. “I was thinking about you and Claire. You’re pretty badass to be out here alone, but she must be pretty hard to be in among the enemy underground. How long has she been spying for Constantine?”

  Garrett opened a tin of beans and put a spoonful in his mouth. “Claire’s tough, but not in a conventional way, she’s tough up here,” he tapped his head. “She can take stressful situations, things that would finish others. I’ve never seen her crack under pressure; she’s the brains, she understands all the tech. I’m the muscle. Claire’s proved invaluable to Constantine, we’ve been able to keep one step ahead of the NSA with the intel Claire has gathered. But this is the big one… she has new information on the NSA’s viral weapons programme that we need to get out.”

  “Fighting from within, yeah I know the feeling,” Mercy’s hand went to her stomach to where Cobalt Biotech had implanted the parasite. “You did say Constantine is working on a solution to the virus didn’t you?”

  Garrett grunted, nodding.

  “So she’s got her own biotech people; surgeons, scientists?”

  “Yes, we just need the intel Claire has to give us the edge… and you. From what you told me, your situation is unique—” Garrett froze, his spoon halfway to his mouth. “Shit, do you see that?” he pointed at the treeline just below the lodge.

  Mercy stopped chewing and looked at the trees, “Are those… wolves?”

  “No, coyotes, there’s a pack. They’ve got our scent, maybe smelt the food. They wouldn’t normally come this close to humans unless they were starving. Come on, ditch your food, we need to go.” Garrett stood up.

  Mercy put down her partially eaten tin of tuna. Garrett shouldered his pack and picked up his M24.

  “We can’t shoot them, the sound would carry, there’s a chance the NSA would hear.” Garrett turned to face her. His eyes widened.

  A low growl came from behind Mercy, she stiffened, the hairs on her neck prickled.

  Chapter 11 Descent

  Mercy’s hand went to the combat knife on her webbing. She turned, throwing herself to one side, knife flashing in her hand. The coyote attacked. Mercy landed on the dirt and rolled out of reach of its snapping teeth. The coyote recovered and growled. Garrett approached, reversing his rifle to use it as a club. Mercy gripped her knife and sat up, the coyote hurled itself at her its jaws wide, it slammed into her searching for her neck.

  Mercy fell back struggling to keep the knife in her hands, her blade pierced the coyote’s chest to the hilt. The coyote went limp its foam covered teeth snapping a hair’s breadth from Mercy’s skin. Mercy blinked, processing what had just happened.

  Garrett pulled the coyote’s corpse off Mercy. “Are you bit?” he asked, his voice urgent. “Are you bit?” He leant over to examine her neck.

  “No, I’m not bit,” Mercy replied, her hands going to her neck.

  “We gotta get out of here, that one had rabies, the others may be infected too,” he lifted Mercy up, pulled the knife from the coyote’s body and handed it to her. “Maybe the food we left and this dead one will keep them busy for a while,” he glanced back. “But we gotta go now—”

  Mercy nodded.

  Garrett moved through the trees, the ground was steep. Mercy forced herself to follow, her heart pounding. The wind strengthened the higher they went. Mercy imagined the coyotes gathering behind them, hunting them, she needed to keep her eyes on her feet and the ground ahead. The wind was against them. Mercy bit her lip in concentration.

  So, let them come, it’s just like all the other times, there’s always something wanting to feed, hunter and hunted. I’m fed up being hunted—

  They were through the trees, the sky opened above them, they could go no higher. Mercy paused and looked down from the summit at the ridge below. The mountain’s granite crown stood proud and cold.

  Garrett gazed back along the ridge, his shoulders relaxed. “They’re not following, just as well, I didn’t want to use my rifle.” He pointed at a rocky promontory, “That’s the Horns, hold on—” he pulled out a compass and took a field bearing. “OK, so according to Claire’s instructions we need to continue along the ridge for half a mile then descend south east to just above the 7,000 foot contour line, there’s a concealed venting hatch in that vicinity.” He checked his watch, “We’d better go.”

  Mercy nodded, it was freezing on the exposed summit, she was keen to move. They set off and made good progress south along the ridge. She was enjoying the physicality of the terrain, her worries melted away as she concentrated on where to place her feet. They were forced to climb in places as the granite rose in craggy spires. An hour later Garrett stopped to check the map.

  “This is it, we need to lose height now, we’ll drop down into that valley,” he pointed the descent route on their left. “That’s southeast off the ridge, it’ll bring us down to the ground overlying NORAD, or what used to be NORAD anyway—”

  “NORAD?” Mercy asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “North American Aerospace Defence Command. Your bunker,” Garrett replied. “Doomsday command and control centre for the military in the event of a nuclear war, built in the Cold War, refurbished and kept up to date over the years. Claire’s in there and your friends most likely—”

  “How are you in contact with Claire?” Mercy asked.

  “Encrypted satellite phone, we still got satellites just like the NSA, we’ve got hackers too. It’s all one way traffic though, we don’t communicate with Claire to minimise her risk. She sends, we receive.” Garrett handed Mercy his water bottle.

  Mercy took a mouthful of water and returned the bottle. “So Claire doesn’t actually know you’re coming for her? For all she knows you’re dead or captured.”

  Garrett stared at the valley, “I’ve had near misses more than once in recent weeks
but I’m still alive,” he paused. “And anyway, I promised her I’d come back for her—” his voice stumbled.

  There it is—

  Mercy recognised Garrett’s feelings for Claire. Something occurred to her, “What if Claire’s been compromised? Or is being played to relay false intel to you guys?”

  Garrett shrugged and shook his head. “We don’t know for sure but we’ve got kill pills, we end it before they can. I’ve lost other colleagues to the NSA, spies are tortured for information then shot—”

  Mercy sensed his concern, “Yeah, well, Claire is smarter than the NSA from what you’ve said, I’ll bet she’s OK.”

  Garrett grunted, “She’d better be, otherwise I’ll have my own private war down there.”

  They descended through tall pine trees and a stand of aspens, their branches swaying against the blue sky. The wind dropped once they were off the ridge. Mercy looked at her watch, 4:27 pm. They had been moving all day, she was exhausted, this was where mistakes were made. Most accidents happened when people were tired and careless. She gritted her teeth and made a conscious effort to slow her pace and check the ground ahead.

  The trees became more numerous, their descent seemed endless. Mercy’s muscles began to stiffen, her knees ached, she slipped a few times but managed to prevent herself falling by grabbing surrounding branches. Without warning Garrett stopped in front of her. Mercy looked over his shoulder.

  “Scree shoot,” Garrett said, his voice a monotone. “Have you ever done scree running?”

  “That’ll be a negative,” Mercy replied, wondering what he meant.

  “It’s simple, go slow, dig your heels in and don’t lose control. Watch me, do as I do.” Without waiting for a reply Garrett set off down the scree slope his feet setting off mini stone falls. Mercy watched his descent, it was graceful and almost looked like fun. He dropped three hundred feet in a few minutes then looked up at her from the bottom of the slope. He beckoned at her to follow.

  Mercy checked her boots and counted to three. “Here goes nothing.” She stepped onto the scree slope and felt her feet slip. It was like walking in sand, she took Garrett’s route digging her heels into the shifting scree. It felt peculiar but exhilarating, enjoyable even. She reached Garrett breathless and buzzing with adrenaline.